At Columbus restaurants offering brunch, bourbon is joining bacon, eggs and coffee on the morning menu.
It’s certainly not the only spirit being incorporated into brunch drinks – not by a long shot – but it’s part of some of the most interesting imbibe-ables.
Punctuated Potable
Bourbon. Bacon. Beautiful
One such creation is the Bourbon. Bacon. Beautiful., available at the Pearl in the Short North.
“The Bourbon. Bacon. Beautiful. is a combination of fat-washed bourbon, a grapefruit shrub, lemon juice and Ohio maple syrup, then garnished with a piece of candied bacon,” says bartender Patrick Thompson. “It’s really cool when it goes out to a table. People look at it like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a piece of bacon floating in my drink.’ … You don’t see bacon floating in a cocktail very often.”
Smash Hit
Basil Blackberry Bourbon Smash
A few miles south, in the Brewery District, the star of the brunch drink menu at Columbus Brewing Company Restaurant is also a bourbon showcase: the Basil Blackberry Bourbon Smash.
“The basil we use is fresh, as are the blackberries. It’s muddled; all our drinks have hand-squeezed juices, so they’re freshly juiced, which makes a difference in the taste of the drinks,” says manager Kate Cameron. “And it’s really good because, if you’re a bourbon drinker it still tastes like bourbon. It’s not overwhelmed with the other ingredients.”
Top Two
The Pearl and the Columbus Brewing Company Restaurant were two of the top placers in our Best of the ’Bus category “Best Place to Drink Your Brunch.” The category was won by Matt the Miller’s Tavern, featured on pg. 24. Other top finishers included 101 Beer Kitchen, Hofbrauhaus, Shadowbox Live, Union Café and Local Cantina.
Jake Nerone is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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